ulterior epicure

Seen on a chalk clapboard outside of chefBURGER: Daily Special $8.95 for a chefBURGER, fries, and a drink. $9.95 for a chefBURGER with cheese, fries, and a drink. M-F 11am-2pm."

Oh boy, I'm way late on getting my write-ups from my Philly visits done. Rick Nichols steps in for Laban this weeks and gives Zahav three bells. I'm not sure my experience mirrored his - in many ways.

I'm not sure if this thread title is appropriate anymore. Although it didn't seem from my lunch a few weeks ago that people are clamoring for Perrier's upscale restaurant, the dining room didn't seem to hurt for clients either. It's probably not the hottest news items you'll stumble across today, but before I write up the details of my meal, I thought I'd put this out for the forum (from Zagat Buzz):

I've been to all but Ubuntu. I'm anxious to hear which one was your favorite. I'm pretty sure that this post allows me to eliminate one of them. I'm sorry to hear that, from a food standpoint, your meal didn't live up to your expectations. Certainly, even I, a big fan of Kinch and his cooking admit that there were some dishes that I preferred over others. Thankfully, I can't claim any that I just simply didn't like. What impressed me the most about Kinch's cooking is that his best dishes (for me) were so phenomenally good that they helped blind me to a lot of others that were just good/so-so. Of course, you and I have only been once each, so there is room for error, and certainly room for personal preference. If you find my original post about Manresa, you'll see that service was the weakest part of my Manresa experience. Specifically: There was also a lot of confusion among the waitstaff as to what was being served. It didn't seem like anyone knew what was on my plate sometimes. If it wasn't a matter of me happening in on "the new crew," I had hoped that they would resolve this. I'm not sure how the server told you to "stop," but this sounds like a perfectly polite and normal thing for a server to offer. Second to whom? Did you notice others being better served than you/your party?

I love Maoz, if nothing else, for nostalgia. They were the first thing I could find after I arrived in my new home in the Nederlands after having argued with the crummy British Airways luggage recovery office at Schipol for four hours for my lost bags. With no clothes, no energy, and a big hole in my stomach, I drowned my sorrows away in a falafel sandwich with everything on and in it. I was surprised to see them in New York, although I had seen them in Spain and the Nederlands three years ago.

And I would be one who's written unenthusiastically about all three: L20, alinea, and schwa. However, I'm quite certain that you can have an immensely satisfying meal at all three. I haven't been to Custom House and I do need to give each L20 and schwa another chance or two.

Do you mean BoKa in Lincoln Park? Giuseppe Tintori's restaurant? I had dinner there back in March. I was not impressed. I'm sure others will have more enthusiastic things to say.

Yes, yes, to be sure, it's on order. But, I got a message yesterday from Amazon that it's on back-order, for some unknown reason. I'm sure I'll get mine soon and I'll stop pestering y'all.

Okay, who's rocking my world? Actually, I found all of those websites, but only Violin d'Ingres seemed to list prices. Ledoyen's website isn't so much a website as it is just a home page... internet billboard?

It freezes along with the rest of Paris on January 1. Well, now I'm thinking of doing L'Arpege and L'Astrance - and going for lunch, although I have no idea if that's going to save me any money whatsoever. Question: when people say that they had "four courses split" - do they mean that between them and (presumably) one other, had the kitchen split four courses so that each had a sampling of the four, or that they each ordered four and had the kitchen split it so that each, in effect, got to sample eight dishes? I'm assuming the former. I don't know whether the fact that most of the restaurants I'm *trying* to research don't have websites is annoying or endearing. At this stage, when I'm trying to find out reservation policies and prices, I find it annoying. I'm assuming that after all is said and done, I'll find it endearing. In case anyone wants to ballpark the following restaurants for me, I'd love to know what the average meal, without wine, would cost per person (lunch and/or dinner). I would accept a (limited) range of prices: L'Arpege L'Astrance Ledoyen Repaire de Cartouche Violon d'Ingres Le Baratin Spring Le Comptoir Le Chateaubriand Website links to any of them (except L'Arpege, which seems to have its internet game on) would also be greatly appreciated.

And probably why I never had much interest in it until now.

Frank Bruni gives Perbacco 2 stars, and together with Pete Wells talks about it as if it's a newish discovery. I can't say that I know exactly when or how I first heard of Perbacco, but I've known about it's existence for years.

And freeze to death...

Ledoyen's website doesn't seem to extend beyond the homepage (the only page?). What are the current menu prices (sans wine).

Although I'm not surprised, that's what I was afraid would be the case.

Do they offer special Christmas menus, or can you get their "regular fare?"

Thanks, John. The vast majority of the lists and recommendations on the latter thread seems to be focused on New Years Eve rather than Christmas Eve/Christmas.

I don't know what Chef Duffy has been up to at Avenues. I've heard mixed reviews. I'd stick to Trotter's or TRU.

Do you mean, "...not as good as the chicken at Violon d'Ingres?"

Although I've been to Paris more times than the average American could hope to visit, I have yet to visit near Christmastime. I'm in the preliminary stages of planning a trip to Paris during the week leading up to Christmas. The main purpose of the trip is actually a business trip to London, but I'm negotiating in a side-trip to Paris. Actually, if I have my way, my time in London will be but a side-trip to Paris. So, here are some questions that I hope this forum will be patient and generous enough to indulge me by answering: 1. What happens in Paris during Christmas? Let me rephrase: what happens to restaurants during the holidays - the week leading up to and on the Christmas? What I'm hoping you'll tell me is that the city is dead and devoid of tourists and I'll waltz into hard reservations and get the cheapest hotel fares. 2. I'm trying to decide which one of the "L'A's" to go to: L'Astrance, L'Ambroisie, or L'Arpege. I've heard pros and cons for all of the above. 3. I plan and hope to get a good mix of Michelins and bistros. Other than maybe two Michelin dinners, I plan to keep the "l'etoile" eating to lunches and leave the dinners to more casual venues. As with #2 above, any suggestions/advice would be appreciated. Though months away, I'm somewhat excited to be getting back to Paris, even if it will be cold. The last time I was in Paris was October, 2005, when I had a disappointing meal at Le Cinq (at the time a (waning) 3-star under Legendre), an encouraging meal at Le Carre des Feuillants, and a rather satisfying dinner at L'Os a Moelle.

The first time I had the Sacher Torte was after having a weinerschniztel the size of Texas and right before a performance of Elektra at the Weiner Staatsoper. Honestly, I don't think I remembered a bit of that performance. But the cake - not being a cake person either, I just remember wanting to scrape out the apricot jam filling. Gooseberry. Straggler here. Happy 22nd. I can't wait to see what you pull out on your 23rd next year. Remind me in the invitation to your party not to eat for a year before.

Boy, am I late to this fantastic party. Bryan, you've outdone yourself once again. I'm jumping the puddle later this year, so this report comes with much welcome from me. I'm actually taking a huge shot to the wallet as the majority of my trip will be on the British pound. But, a few days in Paris are in order, so any up-to-date tips would be appreciated. A few notes: 1. Glad to see you enjoyed Carre des Feuillantes. Did you sense some Mediterranean/Spanish influences in Dutournier's repertoire? I did when I was there. 2. As between the two Constants, did you prefer one over the other? Is that a band of mayonnaise ringing in the lobster?

I circled back around recently for a few burgers. The "Hawaiian Burger" was more of a Hawaii Comes To The Midwest Burger. Save the the grilled pineapple, the rest of it wasn't terribly tropical: bacon, Pepperjack cheese, and Srirachi coleslaw. Overall, it was fine; the burger patty itself was rather bland and relied on the other ingredients for flavor. My friends and I revisited Thanksgiving with the "Turkey Burger," which was slightly better than last time, owing to a reduction in mayonnaise. Generally, the use of condiments was, thankfully, more restrained. Also, the waffle fries were much less greasy than last time. Milkshakes were just as watery as before. I think I'm done with the milkshakes at chefBURGER - or at least until I hear that they've thickened them up.

Whoever it was on this thread (or another) who pointed me in the direction of Lola's: many thanks. I had an immensely enjoyable dinner at Lola's Tasting Menu about a month ago. Due to travels and career repositioning, I've not had time to pay the members of this forum back for all your excellent advice. Here's a cut-and-paste from my blogpost review. You can see all of the photos from my meal on my blog as well.

I can imagine that the English Sea Salt (at least that's the type of salted gelato I saw on offer) would go particularly well with the Cioccolata Scuro (dark chocolate). Then again, I'm the one who thinks that EVERYTHING goes best with dark chocolate. If I lived 45 minutes from a Capogiro, I don't know which I'd spend more money on - gas or gelato.